Conrad Johnson 17LS Power Cord Recommendations

>>I tried a Shunyata CX cord, which made the sound brighter and edgier.<<

>>The after market options typically add cost without any audible improvement. <<

Hmmm ... contra my experience on both counts.

Granted the stock 16-gauge cord that came with the ACT2 and Premier 140 was a nice cord, and lower end after market cords may or may not yield a benefit. If you go up the ladder I've yet to hear a Premier level CJ preamp that did not benefit from either a Shunyata PC or Hydra or both. YMMV

With CJ gear the factory supplied cords are typically the best way to go. The after market options typically add cost without any audible improvement.

The cj hospital grade stk power cord is extremely good

I have a 17LS2. I tried a Shunyata CX cord, which made the sound brighter and edgier. In the end I went back to the stock cord- more natural sounding, less fatiguing.

I have found the BMI MK5 power cord to be the most unristricted cable I have heard to date. I would be completely stunned if this cable did not make a difference over any stock cable on the CJ's.

I've tried a various cords on both my 17LS and now
my CT-5. My two favorite cords were the BMI Hammerhead
MK3 and a Tek-Line Reference. The MK3 cord is harder to
find these day's and its more pricey than the Tek-Line cord
as well.

I believe Tek Line will let you demo the cord for 30 days so
you have nothing to lose.

Good luck
Cmach

Clayeton, what power cord came with the 17LS? The reason I ask is that I tried several different PC’s with my CT-6. The factory PC that came with the CT-6 had what CJ calls their “hospital grade” cord. At least I think that is what Lew Johnson told me they called it. It has a ‘clear” plug. When I switched to a Premier 16 the aftermarket cord I was using with the CT-6 automatically went into the 16. After seeing your original post a couple of weeks ago and remembering that several people on A’gon have already commented that aftermarket cords did not make a difference on their CJ preamps, I plugged the CJ hospital grade cord back into my 16. Voila, the factory cord actually sounds much better, particularly in the mid to upper ranges. Moral of the story, don’t discount the factory PC. If your 17LS did not come with the hospital grade cord, you may want to order one from CJ and try it on for size. I don’t know the price of the cord, but it has to be cheaper than some of the crazy prices people (including me) are paying for aftermarket cords.

Hello,

I'm using CJ ACT-2 MKII with Bmi Oceanic Statement power cord with wonderful!!! results, very expensive but it is easily the BEST! power cord that I'll have ever tried on my preamp. Also I'll recommend Electraglide Genghis Khan (if you can find one) and FIM Gold power cord's with excellent! results as well. Hope this help.

Regards.
Bernie

Jtimotya

Thanks for the response. What Shunyata model were you using?

Nice linestage! I thought the 17LS put you in a seat a little further back in the hall. The music is all there, it just seems farther away than, say, through a 16LS. I found Shunyata opened up the presentation.

I tried several power cords, up to a thousand dollars, and couldn't find improvement so I kept the stock cord. However, I can highly recommend playing with the tubes.